After Reaching the Skies, Tom Cruise Dives Into 'Deeper' — Is This His Most Ambitious Mission Yet?
A deep-sea thriller years in the making begins soon.
After years adrift in development, Deeper — a supernatural thriller set beneath the ocean’s surface — is finally moving ahead. Tom Cruise will star alongside Ana de Armas, with filming scheduled to begin this August. Directed by Doug Liman, the project reunites the pair following their previous collaborations on Edge of Tomorrow and American Made. With a budget north of $200 million, the scale is unmistakably ambitious.
The story follows a disgraced astronaut who takes on a high-risk mission to explore a newly discovered ocean trench — only to encounter something lurking in the dark. Liman has described the film as a supernatural thriller, which suggests this won’t be your average pressure-suit drama. And considering Cruise and de Armas have already begun underwater training for the roles, the production seems eager to dive in, quite literally.
Originally penned by Max Landis and first announced in 2016, Deeper has passed through many hands. Over the years, names like Idris Elba, Bradley Cooper and Gal Gadot were at one point attached, while directors Kornel Mundruczó and Baltasar Kormákur circled the project. MGM initially acquired the script for a hefty sum, but later dropped it following serious allegations against Landis — leaving Deeper to sink into development limbo. Until now.
Could this long-shelved concept finally find its footing with Cruise at the helm (or rather, in the suit)? The combination of deep-sea suspense, otherworldly tension and Cruise’s signature intensity might just make Deeper one of the more intriguing blockbusters on the horizon.
